Chevrolet Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter might have put rumors of a new rear mid-engine Corvette to bed.
Rumors of General Motors developing a sports car under the Corvette name that would use a mid-rear mounted engine aren’t new, but speculation that GM might finally be developing a more direct competitor to cars like the Ferrari 488 GTB and Lamborghini Huracan rose after GM trademarked the “Zora” name and spy photos emerged of what looks like a heavily camouflaged sports car with a Corvette rear end.
During an interview with Autoline After Hours, one of the hosts asked Juechter about rumors that a mid-engined Corvette supposedly appeared briefly during a TV program. “I’ll have to check that out, because I know no such car exists,” he said.
Even so, Chevrolet studied the idea of switching from an FR to MR powertrain layout for the Corvette in the past. During the program Juechter cited the current Corvette, saying GM explored the possibility of moving to a rear engine design, but that moving in that direction required sacrificing too much everyday driving comfort.
Juechter’s denial comes months after several major automotive magazines ran cover stories suggesting that inside sources claim that General Motors is developing a mid-engine supercar.
In a rare surprise, Ford’s upcoming GT supercar made its debut during the Detroit Auto Show last January in production form without a concept preview before its planned arrival for the 2017 model year.
[Source: Autoline]
Discuss this story at our Corvette forum